Quick Reaction: Raptors 111, Bucks 105

Barnes started the game getting buckets in every way imaginable: An aggressive drive in transition, getting to his spot for the middy before the double came, a little spin move into a big dunk before capping it off with a deep three from the wing to end the quarter with nine points. In the second quarter he started with another three, and later bailed the offense out with a pull up late in the shot clock before turning around and letting AJ Green hear it. An efficient 16 point half put Barnes on pace for one of his highest scoring games of the season. But, his shot making in the third quarter slowed, though he continued to have an impact getting to the rim and to the free throw line (though he couldn’t make them). Playing as the de facto center with no Poeltl, his rebounding was huge, particularly in the third. Into the fourth quarter Barnes didn’t pick up his scoring but he continued to make his presence felt on defense and kept the ball moving offensively. Making a case for the All-Star team with his all around performance tonight.

Immanuel Quickley started the first half shooting 1 / 6 from the field, though apparently had 6 assists even though I can’t remember any of them. As the game went on there were far too many mistakes from Quickley to justify the minutes he played. His decision making on the break is far too slow, he misses cutting opportunities and with his shot not falling he’s providing little value at this level of play.

Brandon Ingram is on a HEATER right now, in the first quarter he hit three threes and split a double team for a reverse lay for 9 first quarter points. After only two points in the second quarter he came back with a vengeance in the third, scoring 13 points by getting to the line, running the break and hitting in the midrange. A scary moment late in the third as he tweaked his ankle on a drive to the rim, something to keep an eye on as these ankles can swell overnight. He did however stay in the game and in the fourth he continued his hot three point shooting as well as hitting a turnaround jumper over Gary Harris. Excellent play from Ingram, I love his willingness to shoot off the catch right now. Keep it up and it’ll be hard to keep him out of the All-Star game.

Best first half for Agbaji of the season. His work came out of the corner early, opening the scoring for Toronto with a nice baseline drive and later hitting two corner threes, more than he’s hit the rest of the season combined. In the third quarter he didn’t provide much offensively but was still solid on defense, however with his shot falling off he didn’t get any minutes in the fourth.

Mamukelashvili opened the game knocking down an open three, a promising sign. Throughout the first half he continued to provide the offense with a spark when it needed it, hitting another three, grabbing an offensive board and slithering his way to the rim for 14 points at halftime. In the second half he did a better job controlling the glass and made a couple of shots at key times. With Poeltl out, Mamu really stepped up in this one.

Gradey continues to get minutes because of his hustle, he is always attacking the offensive glass and got close on a couple and did manage to grab one. His two threes came in the second half which was big for the Raptors offense, glad to see him hit those!

The instant offense machine was working early, a minute after checking in Shead already had two assists to Mamukelashvili. His playmaking was strong but his shot wasn’t falling in the first half as he missed two shots from the exact same spot in the exact same way. Checked in late in the third quarter and made his impact locking down Porter Jr. His shot continued to suffer until the end of the game as he missed a few layups but continued to make his impact in other ways, whipping the ball around to a variety of players for open threes. At the end of the game his shot found him as he hit a heavily contested three to put the Raptors up 10 and seal the deal.

Offensively, Walter provided very little early on. However his energy defensively kept him on the court and it paid off with a steal he took all the way for his only points of the half. After an uneventful third quarter he picked things up by drawing a loose ball foul to get to the free throw line and finding Gradey in the corner for a three.

Jamison Battle only got five minutes tonight and in this case most of the blame for his low minutes can be attributed to himself. He mishandled a pass that would have gave him an open look and missed two three point attempts, one of which was wide open from the corner.

Again not a huge stat line from Murray-Boyles but a couple of buckets, rebounds and high intensity defense from the rookie kept him in the game. There was at least one possession where he was left wide open on the wing and I want to see him fire those away, he’s hitting those shots at a high rate so keep taking them!

Tonight was tough for Darko, he only had 11 guys available, one of which was Garrett Temple. Even so I didn’t love how he distributed some of the minutes, in particular continuing to give Quickley so many when he’s making mistakes and his shot isn’t falling. Also, his decisions on what calls to challenge still baffles me, and it was costly when Ingram got called for an offensive foul that could have been overturned. Though whatever he said to the referees at halftime worked wonders, the Raptors went from zero free throws in the first half to 21 in the second.